Chapter 49
Aurora
The second hand slides past the twelve, and the minute hand silently moves to the forty.
I release all the air from my lungs, feeling empty.
Five minutes have passed since the appointed time. He won't be coming.
Inevitably, I glance toward the houses at the edge of the park. He could be over there, perhaps even standing by the window, looking at me.
Is he contemplating what's right and wrong? Or has he already decided that he can never trust me again?
Determinedly, I clench my fists and pace back and forth on the gravel path. Then I take out my phone again and unlock the screen. My finger hovers over Maxime's name.
Earlier, I was sure that calling him would be wrong. Because that would make me the one making decisions for him again.
But maybe this is different?
Where is the line? When do you have to let go? What is worth fighting for? And how persistent should one be?
Dammit, I don't know.
I press my lips together, put the phone back in my pocket, and lower my eyelids. My nose swells.
What now?
Do I even have another choice but to accept his decision?
My heart constricts painfully, unwilling to believe that this could be right.
"Maybe he really didn't receive the card," I say to myself. If that's the case, I shouldn't give up. Should I?
I turn away to set off, anywhere.
A split second later, I crash into a black wall. My nose presses into fabric, and warmth spreads on my forehead.
The scent of freshly roasted coffee fills the air.
The memory of our first encounter here in this park rushes through me, and everything inside me wants to believe that it's not a coincidence but rather a sign that it will happen again just like that.
That we can start anew. That we can make up for the years between then and now if we both desire it with every fiber of our bodies.
Swiftly, I wrap my arms around his back. "Maxime," I whisper hoarsely. "Thank you for coming."
Immediately, his muscles tense. A moment later, he pulls away.
I lift my eyelids and notice that he is wearing a smart shirt just like during our last encounter. Despite the dark circles around his eyes, he looks stunning. Our memory chest is tucked under his arm. "You forgot this," he says in a detached tone, holding it out to me.
So he kept it. What does that mean? Maybe nothing if he no longer wants it now.
Better not make any moves to take the chest back. "Can we talk?" I ask him, determined not to lose courage.
"Hasn't everything already been said?" he replies tonelessly and places the chest before me on the gravel path.
Far from it.
I smile at him again even though hope inside me is fading. "You may have said everything, but I haven't." As soon as the words leave my mouth, my pulse accelerates, and sweat forms in my palms.
